What is Statistical Features

Extensive research has been performed in recent years for the identification of wireless devices from their radio frequency (RF) emissions. The main idea of identifying a wireless device through its RF emissions is that the electronic circuits and the RF components have specific characteristics determined by the production and manufacturing processes. These characteristics, which result in unique differences, can be used to distinguish a wireless device from another because they appear as subtle modification of the RF signal in space even if the wireless device generates a signal conformant to the standard. This chapter describes the main techniques for the fingerprinting of wireless devices using their RF transmission. There are still however some key challenges to overcome. This chapter tries to identify them in this context as well as providing possible approaches to solve them. Further research work is needed to investigate the portability issues between fingerprints taken using different receivers, as well as to identify and remove potential other sources of bias.